U.K. sofa manufacturer and retailer DFS and creative agency krow communications turned to animation studio Aardman for a Christmas campaign which includes this initial spot, “Special Delivery.” Each of the 14 DFS employees featured in the campaign were meticulously transformed into lifelike handmade fabric characters (approximately 30cm tall) by the expert team at Aardman. The lifelike models were then constructed out of a core metal armature and different fabrics with each one taking around five weeks to make. The characters were then brought back to life for the TV campaign through the painstaking and precise art of stop motion animation.

Darryl George, creative director at krow, said: “We thought Aardman, as another world class British brand, is a great fit for DFS to showcase the brand’s attention to detail and handcraftsmanship. We think they have done an excellent job of capturing the spirit and personality of the real DFS employees to let them tell their own brand stories and show the people behind the brand.”

The new campaign took over six months to produce as Aardman sought to depict the real DFS people and real DFS factories with forensic precision. Following weeks of site visits and nearly 40 interviews with DFS craftspeople, krow and the Aardman team selected 14 DFS employees to feature in the campaign.

“We used stop frame animation to create an authentic handcrafted world that would reinforce the handcrafted nature of each DFS sofa built. It’s been such a joy to work with the truly talented folk at DFS, who put so much attention to detail into the products that they create, very much like we do with the characters and storytelling in our productions.” said Steve Harding-Hill, creative director, Aardman. 

Credits

Client DFS Agency krow communications Darryl George, creative director/copywriter; Jon Mitchell, creative director/art director; Nick Hastings, executive creative director; Emma Rookledge, producer. Production Aardman Animations, Bristol, U.K. Steve Harding-Hill, director; Jeremy Hogg, DP. Stephanie Owen, producer; Danny Gallagher, production manager; Hannah Campbell, production coordinator; Rob Richards, storyboards; Kristyna Litten, character designer; Jim Grant, designs & layouts; Henry St. Leger, Photoshop artist; Helen Javes, art director; Claire Baker, Rachel Bennett, set dressers; Tom Sewell, carpenter; Chris Entwistle, head of modelmaking; Nancy Stott, Georgie Everard, George Watson, Jake Slade, Cath Slade, Tom Astley, Codsteaks, modelmakers; Jay Grace, Seamus Malone, animators; Adam Watts, stills animator; Bram Ttwheam, compositing supervisor & grade; Jim Lewis, Fernando Lechuga, Stephen Hawken, Paule Quinton, compositors; Ben Craske, Dan Hembery, editors.  (Toolbox: Dragon, Photoshop, Nuke, Flame, Final Cut Pro)  ScaryCat Studio, miniature sofas; John Wright Model Making, DFS truck. Postproduction Aardman and The Mill Sound Design Aardman Laura Izzard, sound designer

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